Well, I did it! I got the piece I wanted! Unbelievable really, and I’ll tell you why… I was allowed in to the show a bit early {thank you Mana!} so that I could photograph some of the work, and interview a few artists before the masses arrived. The piece I had my eye on was by an artist named Ben Skinner, who by the way, was one of very first artists that I ever wrote about. Anywho, I was interviewing him when they opened the doors. Not even five minutes later, someone came over and put red dots on two of his three pieces. WHAT?! At that point I panicked and said, Screw the interview… I’ve got to get in line!!! And that’s what I did. I literally ran to the already very long line with cash in hand, and watched the big wall of projected numbers. If there was a black dot behind the number, it meant the piece had already been sold. I stood impatiently watching No. 370 like a hawk. Finally I made it to the front of the line, and seconds later 370 was sold… to me! And then I went back to find Ben and finish our interview.

KIND of gorgeous, no?! Typographic inlaid wood veneer. Sigh. Ben Skinner is a Vancouver based artist, who by day is the concept designer for all of the windows at Aritzia and TNA. Most of his fine art is text-based, which is probably why I love him so {…well, it might also be because of those glasses}. He keeps a notebook of words and phrases that pop into his head, and when the moment is right, he takes them from scribbles in a book to stunning artwork using paper, thread, wood, and sometimes even glitter. Thank you Ben! I absolutely love the new addition to my slowly growing collection.

Oh, yes, and let’s not forget the other huge highlight of my night – I got to meet Jack Black! Unfortunately Jack was not victorious at The Cheaper Show. Here he is with the painting that he stood in line for… but sadly, as he waited, the little black dot of doom appeared behind his number. Poor Jack.